


and you're standing on the edge, face up

by green_tea31



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010), MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Bromance to Romance, Fix-It of Sorts, Fluff and Angst, Hints of McDanno, Idiots in Love, M/M, Mutual Pining, Threats of Rape/Non-Con
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-14
Updated: 2019-03-14
Packaged: 2019-11-17 17:10:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18102830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/green_tea31/pseuds/green_tea31
Summary: “I don’t like this,” Steve mutters next to him while they’re waiting for Kovacs to arrive. Jack’s prediction proved to be true, so far there are only a handful of Kovacs’ goons at the warehouse, and two of them are stoically watching him and Steve while Harry plays backup on the opposite roof.“Yeah, well. It’s not like we had much of a choice here, Steve,” Jack says and goes quiet when the door to the warehouse opens and the man himself strides into the room, followed by a veritable army of bodyguards because the day hasn’t been shitty enough yet.“Well, fuck,” Harry curses over the comms and Jack couldn’t have said it better himself.(Aka the fic where Jack is hunted for treason, the Kovacs situation is an even bigger mess than in canon and Mac takes a vacation - no really, he does.)





	and you're standing on the edge, face up

**Author's Note:**

> No idea how this happened. I blame tumblr because there was a discussion among the macdalton crowd not so long ago about Jack going rogue and Mac having to hunt him down and while I put that idea on my fics to write list, this plotbunny attacked me about three days ago and wouldn't let me go until I wrote it. Somehow it turned into a crossover, too.  
> I also took various snippets and ideas I got from tumblr and incorporated them into the fic because why the hell not.  
> First time writing the Five-0 crowd, so pre-slash for McDanno because I wanted the focus on Mac and Jack and all that delicious angst. Harry Langford budged in and wanted to be written, too.
> 
> As always self-betaed, all mistakes are my own.
> 
> Title borrowed from "Natural" by Imagine Dragons.

If someone had told Mac a week ago that he’d be crawling around a dumpster in a back alley behind a Chinese restaurant in Honolulu, listening to the dulcet tones of a former Jersey Detective turned second in command of Hawaii’s prestigious Five-0 taskforce complain about his partner, trying to find evidence that his own partner hasn’t betrayed everything he stands for a week later, Mac would have…well, Mac would probably have believed them because that’s the kind of shitty luck he’s been having lately.

Jack is _so_ going to owe him until they’re both dead.

Scratch that, if Mac dies on this little adventure he’s going to come back and haunt Jack into the afterlife. It’s only been a few months since Jack practically dragged him back to the Phoenix and then the bastard has the audacity to go rogue and get himself on the most wanted list of pretty much every intelligence agency Mac can think of – and a few he can’t.

He’s bitter about it, so what.

Mac thought they were okay – or okay- _ish_ at least. He thought they were bridging the gap that his months in Nigeria had created between him and his partner, even if Jack had made the entire process a lot more difficult by subtly trying to distance himself from Mac.

Mac is occasionally oblivious, not stupid, he recognized what Jack was doing almost immediately, but despite trying, he simply has no idea how to convey to Jack that Mac _hadn’t_ been okay without him – no matter what it looked like.

One of Mac’s biggest flaws is his tendency to compartmentalize his feelings to such a degree that even he knows isn’t healthy and he’d always thought that Jack _knew_ that.

Apparently Mac needs to spell it out for him in capital letters – as soon as he finds his partner, that is.

Might as well kiss him, too, while he’s at it. It’s not like Mac hasn’t made his feelings more than obvious by disobeying every order from his superiors and going dark.

Speaking of…

“You find anything, yet?” Detective “call me Danny, might as well if we’re going to work together to find our idiotic partners before the CIA does” Williams asks from his own dumpster just as Mac picks out several polaroid pictures from the garbage bag he’s currently rummaging through.

“Yeah, I think I’ve got something.”

He climbs out of his dumpster and shows Danny the pictures. There’s a pretty blonde woman in them, gagged and tied to a chair, glaring at the camera. The second picture is even worse because there’s a little kid in it, obviously crying and the Detective’s eyes widen, face going ashen.

“You know her?” Mac asks.

“Shit, yeah. That’s Mary, Steve’s sister and the little girl is her daughter, Joanie.” He rubs a hand over his face in frustration. “Why didn’t the idiot _tell_ us? We could have helped him, dammit.”

“I know the feeling,” Mac admits tiredly, “But at least this gives us an idea _why_ they went at this alone. I don’t know about Commander McGarrett but Jack is a protector. He’ll do everything to keep the people he loves safe, even if that means going rogue and being hunted by half of the world’s intelligence agencies.”

Danny nods, a thoughtful expression on his face. “Yeah, that pretty much describes the big dumbass of a SEAL, too. I just thought, that after all these years he’d have a _little_ more faith in the team – that he’d have a little more faith in _me_.”

Mac has the feeling that this is an ongoing argument between the two partners and it’s kind of weird for him to be on the other end of it.

Normally it’s Jack telling Mac not to do anything stupid without him. Seems that lesson needs to be a two-way street from now on.

Mac’s going to make sure it sticks.

As soon as he finds Jack.

…       

Jack vanishes on a Thursday.

They’re in the War Room, waiting for Jack and Matty. Mac has all but turned his paperclip into a question mark when Matty and his Dad stride into the room, followed by a Tac team. It’s not one of theirs, Jack is pretty much head of tactical operations and knows every single operative by name which means Mac does, too, and he doesn’t recognize anyone.

“What the hell, man?” Bozer exclaims as one of the black-clad men grabs the tablet he’s been using. Riley looks murderous because she too is forced to let go of her laptop, Mac thinks it’s her third favourite one.

“You better give that back right now or I won’t be responsible for my actions,” she threatens the guy and whatever he sees on her face must be impressive because he actually takes a step back.

“Dad, Matty? What’s going on?” Mac asks. Matty’s face is stoic, features frozen, a blank mask that tells Mac everything and nothing.

Whatever’s going on, they’re not going to like it.

“Yesterday evening, Jack Dalton broke into the server room on level four and removed a piece of sensitive information that can’t be allowed to fall into the wrong hands,” James says into the room and everything stops.

Mac’s heart freezes to ice. He must have misunderstood that because there’s no way…

“You’re saying Jack committed _treason_?” Riley asks disbelievingly and Mac wants to ask that, too, except his voice seems to have left him, and he’s stuck on the fact that _Jack would never do that_.

“Right now it looks that way. Guys, I’m…I’m sure you think there’s a perfectly good explanation for this but until we know more, the team is benched and your field status has been revoked pending the official investigation.” Matty’s voice sounds almost deafening in the oppressive silence that followed Oversight’s declaration but Mac’s attention is caught by something else.

There’s something in Matty’s eyes, a warning maybe, not to do anything rash, accompanied by a near invisible shake of her head and Mac decides to heed her for now.

He might not fully understand the relationship between Matty and his Dad but he trusts Matty to do what is right for the team – including Jack.

There’s no way she seriously considered – even for a second – that Jack betrayed them.

That Jack betrayed _Mac_.

“Go home, get some rest. You’ll be questioned at the Phoenix starting tomorrow. I know this is difficult for all of us but I’m confident that we’re going to get through this,” Matty says but Mac doesn’t think her message reached Riley or Bozer because Riley looks like she wants to murder someone and Bozer looks like someone killed his puppy.

“Come on, guys. You can’t seriously believe this bullshit. Jack would never do this to us, “Riley pleads and looks at Mac, tears in her eyes, “do you really think Jack would do that to _you_ , Mac, so close to…”

Mac knows what she’s talking about, so close after getting you back, but Riley is perceptive and she probably noticed Jack distancing himself from Mac, too, in the last few months.

Mac was tempted to yell at Jack more than once for his sheer obstinacy, because not talking hadn’t gotten them anywhere after the revelation about Mac’s dad, but instead of changing that pattern after Mac returned from Nigeria, Jack had done the exact opposite, evading Mac’s attempts to talk things out and subtly cutting him out of places in his life that Mac had _always_ been a part of.

Strangely enough, that behaviour has actually given Mac _hope_ , hope that the one-sided feelings for Jack he’d been fighting for far longer than he likes to admit aren’t one-sided at all. Mac might be oblivious to emotions most of the time but he knows Jack and the last time his partner had sulked like this had been right after Sarah’s wedding.

So Mac planned to confront Jack in the near future but now it seems he’s going to have to find him first.

However…

Jack’s sulking might just give him the opportunity he needs. It’s going to hurt Riley and Bozer, Mac kind of hates himself for even contemplating the idea, but if he plays up that distance, shows how much Jack’s behaviour _hurt_ …

It’s not even a lie, because Mac has spent more than one night lying awake, asking himself what he could have done differently, what he could have done to stop himself from _hurting_ Jack.

Why hadn’t he asked Jack to come with him?

“Riley…,” Mac clears his throat, “we should do what Matty says. If we want to clear this up and help Jack, we need to let her do her job, guys.” Riley looks at him, betrayal in her eyes and it takes all of Mac’s willpower not to drop his mask. She looks at the others and then back at him before unceremoniously turning around and storming out of the room.

Mac winces. They’re going to have to do a lot of damage control after this.

Provided there is going to be an _after_. Mac has a feeling it’s going to take every bit of spycraft he’s ever learned to get himself and the people he loves through this.

If they survive this, he’s going to kill Jack – or make him apologize until they’re both old and grey.

“That’s a lot more reasonable than I expected given your attachment to Dalton,” his father says and it takes a lot for Mac not to snap at him.

“Yeah, well. The last few months have been difficult and I’d like to say that I _know_ Jack would never do this but…”

‘Bingo’ Mac thinks at the pitying expression on James’ face. His Dad is probably reminded of Walsh right now and while Mac should feel guilty about playing him like that, he doesn’t.

It’s _Jack_. That’s all the reason he needs to be ruthless.

“So we’re just…going home now?” Bozer asks, looking thoughtful, and Mac almost smiles.

If anyone can figure out what he’s doing it’s going to be Bozer. Riley is smart, no question, but she sees details, patterns and code, Bozer sees _people._ Bozer _knows_ people the way Jack knows people and Mac suspects that Bozer is going to be instrumental in getting Riley back on their side because that’s a thing they’re going to have to do.

Pick sides.

Mac’s already picked his. It was never really a question.

…

“Hey blondie, you got one for me, too?” Matty stops next to him at the fire pit and he wordlessly hands her the already opened bottle.

Matty raises an eyebrow. “Expected me, didn’t you?” She takes a long sip and Mac smiles wryly.

“I had a feeling you’d stop by.”

“Hm…there are at least two different government agencies surveilling the house,” Matty tells him while glaring at the fire as if it has personally offended her. Mac very much doubts it’s the fire that drew her ire.

“Four,” he says, motioning towards the backyard, “Two more hiding somewhere over there.”

Matty turns her glare in the same direction.

“Can they hear us?” Mac shakes his head

“Nope. I made sure all they hear is static.”

“And Bozer?”

“Sleeping.”

“Good.” Matty takes another sip and nods decisively.

“That will make this easier. James is heading a taskforce looking for Jack. He’s reached out to the CIA for additional personnel and there are at least three confirmed agencies in Europe looking for him, Interpol, too.”

“Seems like overkill, even for an operative like Jack,” Mac considers, “you think he’s drawing parallels to Walsh?” Matty snorts.

“Of course he is. Not that _he_ fully realises that yet. The most important thing now is to find Jack before anyone else does. They put out a capture or kill order, Mac.”

Mac closes his eyes. _Jack_ …

“About that…I already know where he is, Matty,” Mac admits silently because he hasn’t spent the last few hours idly sitting at home, waiting for news like a goddamn war bride.

He _is_ a genius, people just like to forget what that actually means aside from his talent for improvisation.

“How the hell, Mac? If you knew what he was doing...”

“I didn’t actually but I took a chance that I know him well enough to guess his next move and I was right,” Mac interrupts before she can draw all the wrong conclusions, “He booked several flights from LAX under false identities and while I’m pretty sure that he wasn’t actually on any of these planes I think I know where he’s going.”

“ _Don’t_ tell me. You’re scheduled for the first set of interviews tomorrow morning. I trust that Jack’s taught you well enough, these interviews are going to be a _cake-walk_ for you.”

“Matty…”

“Afterwards you’re going on enforced leave. I’m sure the psych department will be all too happy to sign off on it.” She looks at him and her expression softens.

“After all, your partner just betrayed his country and you’re going to need time to get over that.”

Mac swallows heavily, blinking away tears. He expected Matty to back him but wasn’t quite ready for this much support – for this much _trust_.

It still hits him sometimes, how much these people trust him, how much they rely on him.

_Why didn’t you trust me, Jack?_

“Bozer and Riley…”

“I’ll take care of them. Mac…you know this is going to be incredibly dangerous and if you need help we might not be able to give it, depending on how the investigation goes…”

Mac knows and the thought of having to do this on his own is _terrifying_.

Still…it’s _Jack_.

That makes the risk worth it – that makes it worth _everything._

Mac doesn’t answer but thinks that the expression on his face says everything Matty needs to know.

She swallows the rest of her beer and puts the bottle down gently.

“Come here, blondie.” Mac lets himself be drawn into her embrace and has to fight to let go again because he wants nothing more than to hold on but he’s going to have to do this alone.

Matty steps back and turns to leave.

“I’ll leave you to it. James is expecting me back in an hour to go over the schedule for the next few days.” She walks towards the door but turns to him one last time before leaving.

“Oh, and Mac. You might want to put Dalton out of his misery and tell him you’re in love with him when you find him. I’m growing tired of all that sexual tension whenever you two are in the same room.”

…

Mac’s flight lands in Honolulu late enough, he gives himself the night to catch up on all the sleep he hasn’t been getting over the last few days. As Matty predicted, the psych department was all too happy to sign off on his leave and he happily took every single day they told him he should.

He has four weeks to bring Jack back and then he’s going to make him sleep on the couch until the idiot understands that Mac loves him, that the team loves him, and that he doesn’t get to pull shit like this without getting into trouble.

Mac is going to kiss him, too. Making Jack sleep on his couch is much more effective if he actually knows that there’s an alternative (Mac’s bed) to be had.

_Mac isn’t going to make Jack sleep on the couch because a) he hates the thought of Jack being alone in the living room no matter how angry Mac is at him and b) it’s not like Mac’s going to be able to let Jack out of his sight for the next six months at least._

He spends the night at his hotel actually sleeping which surprises him but it seems the stress of the last few days has finally caught up with him.

Still, his sleep isn’t very restful, half-remembered nightmares following him into wakefulness and the next morning he groggily makes his way to the place he suspects might hold answers to Jack’s current whereabouts.

The ranting is kind of a giveaway.

“Why the hell would he _do_ this? Hasn’t the idiot learned that he’s got a team to back him up by now? I swear to you, I’m going to chain him to this table when we find him, no, you know what? I’m going to chip him like the big dumb Labrador he is, that’s what I’m going to do.”

Mac steps into the Hawaii 5-0 office while an angry blond is ranting about what Mac suspects is Commander Steve McGarrett, Jack’s old SEAL buddy that Mac came to find.

It looks like he’s too late.

The four people turn to him as soon as he steps into the room and Mac nervously clears his throat.

If this is how _his_ team looks when they’re in tune with each other it’s no wonder people tend to be nervous around them.

“I’m sorry, I was looking for Commander McGarrett but apparently I’m too late?”

The blond guy narrows his eyes.

“You’re certainly late to the party. Better question… _who_ are you and _why_ are you looking for Steve?”

Mac mentally slaps himself, telling himself to get his head in the game. He’s a spy, dammit.

“I’m sorry. My name is Angus MacGyver. I’m a friend of Jack Dalton, who’s an old friend of the Commander. We actually worked with members of your task force two years ago? After the earthquake?”

“Right, yeah, the guys from the think tank. I’m Danny Williams, these are Lou Grover, Tani Rey and Junior Reigns. If you’re here, _please_ tell me you know what’s going on, Mr MacGyver, because my partner, our esteemed leader, has decided to leave for distant shores without informing anyone and it’s pissing me off.” The Detective holds out his hand for Mac to shake. He looks about as tired as Mac feels and the rest of the team doesn’t look much better.

“I’m pretty sure your partner is wherever my partner is, so I propose that we start looking for them together. I should warn you, though, that I’m officially here on vacation and that I have at least four different intelligence agencies on my tail, trying to find out if I know where Jack is…also, please call me Mac, Mr MacGyver is my Dad and right now that’s not someone I want to be reminded of,” Mac says and Detective Williams smiles grimly.

“Call me Danny, might as well if we’re going to work together to find our idiotic partners before the CIA does. And don’t worry about Spies R Us, pissing off intelligence agencies is kind of our speciality.”

You mean it’s your speciality, yours and Steve’s. The rest of us are usually just along for the ride, man,” the man introduced as Lou Grover says while rolling his eyes.

He extends his hand to Mac. “Captain Lou Grover, the only adult on this task force and if we’re going to do something illegal together might as well call me Lou.” Captain Grover grins at him at Mac can’t help but grin back because he likes these people.

“Tani.” The only female task force member raises her hand and waves at him then turns to her partner and shoots him a not so subtle glare. The poor guy stumbles a bit before finally introducing himself as Junior and Mac gets the feeling that Tani is definitely the relaxed half of that partnership.

Mac guesses the kid is former military and he’s probably not that used to civilian life yet because he looks like he has to fight the urge to salute every two seconds just in case a superior officer might cross his way.

Mac is twenty-eight and should stop calling him “kid” in his head.

Jack is a bad influence.

“Why do you think your partner is with the Commander?” Junior asks and Mac steps up to the table.

“Jack booked several flights leaving LA last week, all under cover identities, but only one of these identities wasn’t immediately recognizable as fake – the one going to Hawaii.”

“You think he was on that plane?” Lou asks but Mac shakes his head.

“No, still too obvious. I think he found another way to get to the island, the fact that he used a legitimate cover for the flight just means that he’s trying to fly under the radar as much as possible. It’s also likely that he and Commander McGarrett have already left Hawaii…to be honest, I really only came here to find out where he might have gone next.”

Of course, the fact that Jack actually went and got help is a relief to Mac but it’s also going to make things more difficult, because he might be able to predict Jack’s moves but Steve McGarrett is the literal wildcard in his equation.

It’s a good thing these people know McGarrett then.

“So, I ran Steve’s credit information after we realised that he’s gone dark without telling anyone and found that he made one last purchase, Friday evening, in a restaurant in Chinatown before the trail goes cold.” Tani puts up a picture of McGarrett’s info along with an address on the screen in front of them.

“That restaurant better have a working security system,” Danny mutters to himself before addressing the team, “Alright, people. Mac and I are going to see if we can find something that tells us where the two idiots have gone off to. Tani, Junior, I know you want to be involved in this but as long as we don’t have any concrete evidence, someone still needs to deal with our actual cases. Lou?”

“I’ll make sure we look nice and busy for the cameras. Don’t worry. The day I can’t lead the CIA astray is the day I hang up my job and retire for good.” Lou grins again, like he’s really looking forward to messing with the Agency, so do Tani and Junior, and Mac is suddenly glad he found these people to help him because they obviously care about their missing member the way Mac cares about Jack.

Maybe not _quite_ the way Mac cares about Jack but it’s close enough.

“Come on, then. Don’t think your arrival went unnoticed. Might as well give the spies outside something to see. What do you think about having lunch at one of Honolulu’s better Chinese restaurants?” Danny asks as Mac follows him out of the office.

“Detective. I think you’re reading my mind.”

…

“Okay, how many people in this restaurant are spies then?” Danny mutters while looking at the menu. Mac takes a surreptitious glance around.

“Only the two in the back, CIA probably.” The server comes and they order even though neither of them is actually all that hungry.

“I don’t understand why they’re even following us. If we can find out that Steve was here, couldn’t they do that, too?”

Mac considers the question for a moment.

“You partner used to work for them occasionally, didn’t he?” Danny nods. “So did Jack. My guess, they’re counting on us knowing them well enough to do the busy work for them. If they follow us, they think we’re going to lead them straight to Jack and McGarrett.”

“And what are we going to do about that?” The Detective asks dubiously.

Mac grins.

“I’ll be right back.” Mac gets up just as the server passes them with the order for the table in the back. They almost collide, but the server, trained by years of experience, avoids disaster and doesn’t drop a single thing.

Mac palms the now empty vial with the powerful laxative he’d whipped up in the Phoenix labs over the weekend and makes his way to the restroom to avoid suspicion. When he gets back to their table, Danny raises an eyebrow questioningly.

“Just wait.”

It doesn’t take long. A few minutes in, one of the CIA operatives makes a dash to the bathroom, his partner following only seconds later, not so subtly glaring at Mac.

“Come on, Detective. That should keep them busy for a while.” Mac gets up.

“You know, I’m not sure if I should be impressed or arrest you for something,” Danny tells him, “Given that you’re here to find your partner who absconded with _my_ partner, I thought you were the sane half of your partnership but you’re not are you? Oh my God…you’re actually Steve, just in…blond and not-military.”

“Actually, I was an Army EOD.”

“Of course you were,” Danny says wryly and introduces himself to the staff member at the register. It turns out the restaurant does have a security camera and they get some nice, well-lit footage of their partners having dinner and of Steve showing Jack what looks like polaroid pictures.

“They left through the back. Want to bet they got rid of the pictures there?”

Which leads back to the dumpsters.

Jack is _so_ going to owe him for this.

…

“You know, what I don’t understand is why Steve just threw the pictures away? That’s sloppy and Steve is nothing if not thorough.” Danny muses while absently poking around in his Chow Mein – they got take out in the end.

“Maybe he wanted you to find them? He’s gone dark on an unsanctioned mission with no support except for Jack. He might not want you along for the ride but he probably didn’t want to vanish without leaving you a way to hunt him down if their plan goes wrong,” Mac says.

“What about your partner then? Did he leave you any hints?” Mac frowns. He’d asked himself if Jack had meant the cover identity for the flight to Hawaii as a hint but…

“Don’t think so. Jack isn’t just protective, he’s…whatever comes after that.”

“Smothering?” Danny asks wryly and Mac chuckles.

“Sometimes…I think Jack knows he needs every advantage if he wants to stay ahead of me. I _did_ find him in less than five hours – not my fault he’d already left Hawaii by the time I got here.”

“You know, a long time ago I tried to get Steve to tell me more about this world of covert operations and spy vs spy…these days I just try to keep him from getting himself killed every time his past comes knocking. I’m tempted just to drag him to retirement with me and be done with it.” Danny looks pensive.

“But I guess even that wouldn’t be a guarantee that he’d be _safe_ …but enough of that. We need to plan our next steps, find out where the two idiots actually _are_ …”

“They’re in Paris,” Mac interrupts the Detective.

“How the _hell_ could you possibly know that?” Danny asks disbelievingly.

“The photos, they were taken in the catacombs. I recognize them because…I’ve been there, recently,” Mac admits because he really doesn’t like to be reminded of that op, still wakes at night, sweat-soaked, the Ghost’s voice whispering in his ear.

“Of course you were…so, we’re going to Paris, then?”

Mac takes a deep breath because this is going to be difficult.

“Actually, I need you to stay here and make sure the CIA is busy. The less operatives I have following me around, the faster I can hunt down Jack and your partner. I know this might be a lot to ask…”

“You want me to distract the CIA while you go on your very illegal trip to Paris trying to find the two idiots who thought they had to do this own their own while their families back home make themselves sick with worry?” Danny asks and if he puts it like that it does sound like Mac is asking him to put a lot of trust into someone he’s only met a few hours ago.

Asking him to trust Mac to bring his partner back, a man he’s worked with for the better part of a _decade_.

Mac can understand the hesitation.

“I can do that.”

“I’m sorry?” Apparently he misunderstood Danny’s agitation.

“I’ve been told I’m very good at being a nuisance to the CIA, they hate me. They probably hate Steve even more but I already upset them because I’m a civilian who likes to stick his nose into their business so yeah, I’m going to be the biggest pain in the ass they can possibly imagine if it gets you off the island unnoticed. I bet the kids and Lou are going to be eager to help, too. Their opinion of the CIA isn’t much better than mine.” Danny grins at him and Mac begins to see how the Jersey transplant manages to keep up with his partner on a regular basis.

The sheer _energy_ Danny exudes is kind of amazing and Mac really wants to stick around just to watch what he comes up with to lead the CIA on a merry chase.

Mac grins back, he can’t not because Danny’s enthusiasm is nothing if not contagious.

“There’s one more thing I’d like your help with if you’re up for it,” Mac says and grabs a pen and paper from the Detective’s desk to jot something down.” Danny quirks an eyebrow in a silent question and Mac holds out the paper.

“We’re going to need some help.”

…

Jack is sitting next to the Canal Saint-Martin, Steve backing him up with his favourite sniper rifle. They were told to expect their contact who would tell them what to do next. He tries not to think about the people he left behind in LA, tries not to think what this is doing to them, the thought that he could betray them.

Tries, and fails, not to think about whether or not _Mac_ believes that Jack has betrayed them – betrayed Mac. Jack won’t blame his partner if Mac doubts him, not after what he did to Mac in the last few months.

Jack did everything possible to distance himself from Mac and only now, when it looks like he might be thrown into the deepest darkest hole Oversight can find as soon as he steps back into LA, does he regret his behaviour.

Jack spent months sulking, time he could have used to _rebuild_ his partnership with Mac. The kid might not know how attached Jack has become to him, Jack is _very_ careful not to ask more of Mac than he’s able to give, but he had to realise that Jack was deliberately cutting him out of his life.

Not entirely, never that, but just enough that it wouldn’t hurt as much if Mac left again.

Jack is an _idiot_ because being away from Mac still hurts the same way it did the last time they were apart and this time it’s Jack who left.

He can only hope Mac will let him make amends for his stupidity if he survives this.

Provided Jack doesn’t land in that deep, dark hole he suspects might be waiting for him.

“Attention, Jack. Someone approaching on three o’clock.” Steve’s voice sounds through his earpiece, “Blond guy, carrying a box from that expensive bakery Harry likes so much.”

And that’s another thing…why the hell did Steve let Harry Langford stay around? He may be useful in a pinch, but he’s also kind of a pain in Jack’s ass, pretentious British bastard that he is.

”Hey, Jack,” Mac drops down next to Jack, greeting him with a sunny smile that’s as fake as his cheerful demeanour. Mac is holding a box of colourful macaroons and this has to be a very vivid hallucination because his partner is supposed to be back in LA, away from all this mess.

“What the _hell_ are you doing here?” Jack asks, looking around frantically for any sign of his _actual_ contact while trying to look like he’s not…looking around frantically.

“Enforced leave. Apparently my partner decided to betray his country and the psych department thinks that’s a stressful thing to happen, so…and I love Paris.” Mac shrugs, seemingly unconcerned and Jack gets a very bad feeling.

Mac is angry…no, scratch that. Mac is _furious_. Jack can see it in the tight lines around his partner’s eyes, the way he’s holding himself very, very still – probably trying not to compromise Jack by yelling at him in public.

Jack knows his partner is the goddamn best operative he’s ever worked with, he’s just never had all of that considerable brainpower pitted _against_ him.

They might be screwed is the thing he’s carefully not thinking about.

“Relax Jack.” Mac’s eyes soften. “I know about Commander McGarrett’s sister, his partner says hi by the way. I’m just here to provide backup if you need it and to keep my Dad off your trail...don’t worry I’ll yell at you later.”

“Mac,” Jack begins, “I appreciate the sentiment, but I want you as far away from this as possible. _Please_ …go back to LA and let me clean up this mess on my own,” Jack pleads and realises he fucked up when Mac’s eyes narrow and his voice goes cold.

“You did _not_ just ask me that, Jack.”

“Mac…”

“So I’m supposed to let you do something this stupid on your own then, am I?” Mac clenches his fist and looks down, bangs falling into his eyes. Jack wants nothing more than to reach out and sooth the hurt he inflicted but he _can’t_.   

He can’t worry about Mac and focus on this shitshow at the same time. It’s different when they’re in the field together, _Jack_ is different when they’re in the field.

The man who went to Paris with Steve McGarrett in order to kill the terrorist responsible for abducting Steve’s sister and niece and threatening Jack’s family is very different from the man he turned himself into during his years as Mac’s backup and protector.

Jack couldn’t bear it if Mac saw the killer beneath the surface and turned away in disgust.

“ _Fine_ , I know when I’m not wanted,” Mac says and gets up before Jack can say anything, “Don’t think you’re getting rid of me that easily, Jack. I’ll be around. Don’t worry, you’ll barely notice me.” Mac smiles grimly and turns to leave.

Jack wants to call him back and tell him that he’s wrong, that Mac _is_ wanted, that Jack will _always_ want him, but that’s the moment Steve informs him that their actual contact is approaching and so the chance is lost.

…

Jack might be going insane. Either that or he’s started hallucinating his partner. They’re still ahead of the various intelligence agencies on their tail – according to a contact of his, James MacGyver is currently looking for them along the Mexican Riviera and Jack would really like to know how Mac managed that because he’s pretty sure they have his partner to thank for that.

But Mac seems to be _everywhere_.

He doesn’t make it obvious – he promised after all but Jack’s Mac-sense has been fine tuned to a degree that he just _knows_ when the kid is close.

Mac just…doesn’t do anything. He lets them work and is just _there_.

Whatever he does, however he’s keeping people off their back, Jack has no idea how he’s doing it and it’s driving him to distraction.

It’s driving him _crazy_. Jack thought he was a decent operative, Steve tells him he already used to be a fucking _legend_ when Steve just started out himself, but apparently he’s got nothing on a pissed-off Angus MacGyver.  

Mac, who’s on a goddamn _vacation_.

Jack really regrets telling Mac he wouldn’t be able to find him in less than a day when they first found out about Walsh because Mac has since proven than he _can_.

Again and again and again…

He’s seemingly just letting Jack and his team do what they need without interfering and that’s just not Mac, that is so not Mac, Jack’s tempted to contact Matty and ask her if someone managed to clone his partner, only the fear of Matilda Webber on the warpath stalling his hand.

“…possibly made contact with Kovacs immediately after the meeting but even that’s uncertain. The place where we’re supposed to meet him is an abandoned factory building about an hour south of the city. I wasn’t able to get my hands on blueprints of the building, so we may have to go in blind,” Steve tells him and shuts off the video from the surveillance camera they’ve tapped into in order to keep up with their contact’s movements.

“Of course we do,” Jack mutters and suppresses a yawn.

“I see the mood hasn’t improved while I was gone, gents.” Harry Langford saunters back into the abandoned warehouse they’ve claimed as their temporary base and while Jack is more than grateful that he and Steve have some support, he still doesn’t really like the former MI6 agent.

Langford is carrying a deliciously smelling plastic bag that he puts on the table and fine, he can stay if he brings food.

“Met that beautiful partner of yours, Jack. He gave me something,” Harry continues and Jack contemplates killing him and hiding his body for maybe a second before Steve’s pointed look gets him back on track.

“Excuse me?” Jack asks, voice dangerously low. Steve winces because he knows that tone of voice. The last time Jack had cheerfully wiped the floor with a group of angry bar patrons afterwards and he’s pretty sure they’re still telling tales about _el gringo diabólico_ in that little town in Mexico.

Langford just puts his hands up in the universal gesture of surrender and doesn’t look all that threatened.

“Hey, don’t worry my friend. I recognize a claim when I see it. You partner is lovely to look at but I wouldn’t think of actually touching him.” Langford looks bemused and Jack concedes that he might have slightly overreacted. Still…

“We’re not…you know…dammit there is no claim. Mac can do whatever he goddamn pleases without asking my permission.” Jack isn’t sure how they started talking about this in the first place but he’d like it to stop now.

“Keep telling yourself that, buddy,” Steve mumbles almost inaudibly while rubbing a hand over his face in frustration. “Could you two maybe stop squabbling like children and can we please get back to the topic at hand? What did MacGyver want?” Steve asks and Jack regrets once more that this is the way that these two have come into contact with each other. He’d always planned on introducing Mac to Steve and then stay back and watch them conquer the world but now Steve only knows Mac as the guy who is following them around Paris while his sister is in the hands of a ruthless bastard and Mac knows Steve as the guy that Jack trusted with this instead of him.

Jack has _a lot_ to make up for.

“Well, I don’t know how he did it, but he handed me the blueprints of that factory building that we were unable to procure. I’ll say, Jack. Your partner does make one hell of an operative,” Langford says amazed.

“Do you really think Kovacs is going to turn over your sister and niece if we hand him the file?” Harry turns to Steve questioningly. “He doesn’t quite seem like the type of man who keeps his promises.”

“That’s why we’re going in hot,” Steve answers, “He’ll want to keep them close. He accepted my demand to see them before we give him the file, so we need to be prepared to fight our way out.”

“The factory is in a pretty residential area and Kovacs is trying to stay under the radar as much as possible, so he’s not going to bring an Army,” Jack adds, “but you can still opt out of this, Langford. There’s a fifty-fifty chance this entire thing is going to blow up spectacularly and Steve and I are going to focus on getting Mary and her kid out alive – everything else is secondary.”

Langford looks at them and there’s something of a predator lurking in his eyes – the same predator Jack sees in the mirror each morning if he isn’t careful enough.

Seems he and Harry Langford do have something in common.

“Don’t think you’re getting rid of me that easily, my friends. I know who Tiberius Kovacs is…and what he’s capable of. It’s time someone made sure he’s taken out for good.”

Well, how about that.       

…

“I don’t like this,” Steve mutters next to him while they’re waiting for Kovacs to arrive. Jack’s prediction proved to be true, so far there are only a handful of Kovacs’ goons at the warehouse, and two of them are stoically watching him and Steve while Harry plays backup on the opposite roof.

“Yeah, well. It’s not like we had much of a choice here, Steve,” Jack says and goes quiet when the door to the warehouse opens and the man himself strides into the room, followed by a veritable army of bodyguards because the day hasn’t been shitty enough yet.

“Well, fuck,” Harry curses over the comms and Jack couldn’t have said it better himself.

He should have buried the bastard ten feet under twelve years ago. Jack doesn’t have many regrets but not making very sure that Tiberius Kovacs was really dead is definitely his biggest one.

“Jack Dalton and Steve McGarrett, how I have looked forward to this day.” Kovacs smiles at them triumphantly and holds out his hand.

“Gentlemen, the file please.”

Jack glances at Steve to gauge his mood. Steve’s face is blank and he clenches the fist holding the flash drive with the file rhythmically.

“My sister and her daughter first.”

“Ah, yes. The lovely Mary. Your sister is quite the nuisance but she has proven useful given that you are here. I think we will hold on to your family for now, Commander. You two are going to work for me a while longer, I think.” Kovacs grins at them and before Jack and Steve can react, the back door of the building flies open with a loud bang and Kovacs’ goons drag in two people, no three because one of them is definitely carrying a toddler.

Jack’s heart freezes because he’d recognize that mop of unruly blond hair anywhere.

_Mac, please no…_

“That is a surprise. It seems your sister found herself a knight in shining armour, Commander.” Kovacs steps close to Mac and grabs the kid’s hair, pushing his head back.

“And such a lovely one, too. This one might fetch quite a price on certain markets. What do you say, Jack? How much would you pay for the privilege to bed a boy as beautiful as this?” Kovacs turns to him, a move that forces Mac to drop to his knees or risk having his hair ripped out. Jack nearly loses it when Kovacs traces his fingers over Mac’s face in the mockery of a lover’s caress.

“But what am I saying, Jack. He’s your partner so you already know how lovely he is, don’t you?”

“Keep your fucking hands off him, you bastard,” Mary screams at Kovacs while shielding her daughter as best as she can.

Kovacs raises an eyebrow but doesn’t let go of Mac.

“It appears the lady has…how do you Americans call it? It appears the lady has some spunk. I do like that in a woman.”

“The lady…the lady was already rescuing herself when I found her. I just provided some assistance,” Mac grinds out and shifts on his knees, trying to relieve some of the pressure on his joints. Jack gauges the distance between himself and the nearest goon, trying to guess if he can take him down quickly enough to get at the guy’s weapon but Mac surreptitiously shakes his head.

Huh…apparently his partner has a plan. Jack has no idea how Mac expects them to get out of here but maybe it’s time Jack started trusting in their partnership again.

“Hey Kovacs,” Mac baits and the bastard turns back to him.

“What, Mr MacGyver?”

Mac grins.

“Duck.”

That’s the moment Jack hears the tell-tale sound of a rifle being fired, it can’t have been Harry because the angle is all wrong, and Kovacs drops to the ground, half of his brain and a good deal of his blood now on the warehouse floor.

Jack reacts immediately, throwing himself at the goon he’d been eyeing earlier while Steve does the same with the guy on their other side. He absently notices that Mac’s ‘duck’ seems to have been addressed to Steve’s sister because the bullet had come from that direction, but then he’s busy taking down the rest of Kovacs’ men and the thought fades into the background.

Jack almost gets taken out by one of the better trained goons he fails to notice sneaking up on him, but the guy drops dead before he can fire a single shot.

Jack looks up and…

Yeah, definitely hallucinating now.

“Dalton, you really should have called. Shame on you trying keep all the fun to yourself.”

There’s no way Deacon is here, enthusiastically taking out enemies while Worthy cheerfully waves at him in the background.

“Hey, man,” his Worthy hallucination says while knocking out the last goon still standing, ”The rest of the guys couldn’t make it on short notice but we’ve got a cranky Detective from Honolulu with us who’s been quite useful. Also, call us the next time you need help, man. Let me tell you, the guys are _pissed_.”

“Yeah, that sentiment’s going around I guess, “Jack says glancing at his partner. Mac is watching the show that is Steve’s Danny berating his partner for going off on his own while Mary is quietly snickering next to him.

“I’m guessing Detective Williams contacted you?” Deacon nods.

“Yeah, and your hacker at home tracked you down for us. Met up with your partner yesterday and here we are. Worthy’s right Jack. We’re still a team. Next time, call us and for God’s sake take the kid with you. He’s more than useful in a tight situation and he’s _miserable_ without you.”

Jack has to fight the sudden urge to start laughing because apparently even Deacon saw what Jack has been refusing to see for months now. He looks back at Mac who’s looking at him questioningly.

Jack is going to fix that as soon as they’re going home.

Provided he isn’t going to be thrown into that hole.

Yeah, like he’s going to be so lucky.

…  

Jack is lucky.

The fallout isn’t nearly as bad as he suspected. Apparently taking out one of the most wanted terrorists in the world, someone everybody thought dead, gets you out of a lot of trouble – even trouble you got yourself into in the first place.

They don’t immediately get to go back to LA. Oversight and Matty have arranged for a lengthy, and thorough, debriefing right there in Paris.

No one really knows what to do with Mac, though. He’s technically still on vacation and no one can actually _prove_ that he was helping Jack and Steve almost the whole time.

Jack laughs for nearly half a minute straight when they tell him that little titbit until Matty’s pointed glare stops him.

Right…he’s on thin ice as it is.

Turns out the file he stole wasn’t actually that important in the grand scheme of things and that helps Jack’s case, too. He’d suspected that Kovacs hadn’t really been after the information, his goal had been straight up revenge on the men who’d been hunting him all those years ago and while Steve had only peripherally been involved the first time, taking his sister and niece had given Kovacs an easy in to get to Jack. He could have taken a member of the Phoenix team but that would have meant having an entire US covert agency after him while trying to lay low and so Kovacs had limited himself to sending threatening pictures to Jack instead.

Riley had found the pictures on Jack’s phone two days after Mac left LA and after Bozer explained what he suspected Mac was actually doing the two had immediately started tracing Mac to Hawaii and then to Paris. When Danny contacted Riley she’d been ready to help with whatever necessary to get Jack and Steve back safely.

The phone call afterwards hadn’t been much fun for Jack though.

She’d yelled at Jack for half an hour on the phone, then cried for ten minutes before making him promise to never ever do something like that again.

Jack has a _lot_ to make up for.

They say goodbye to the rest of their temporary team before the debriefing starts – Jack suspects James just doesn’t want to deal with the others while still having to deal with Jack, too.

“Promise me you bring your partner the next time you come to Hawaii. The kid looks like he needs a vacation,” Steve says and Jack throws a glance at his partner who is saying goodbye to Mary and her daughter.

“Yeah, I definitely will. Gonna have to fix a few things first, though,” Jack answers just as Danny and Harry saunter up to them. Harry has an arm slung around the Detective’s shoulders, and judging by the way Steve glares at the two, Jack suspects that his old buddy might have his own Danny-shaped attachment problem to deal with.

“Come on, you big lug. Time to go home and face the music.”

“Admit it, Danno. You missed me.”

“I did not. I enjoyed the peace and quiet, Steve that’s what I did. I can only imagine how long that’s going to last now that you’re coming back…”

Jack watches them wander towards their plane, arguing the whole way while Langford trails behind them, carrying their bags and quietly chuckling to himself.

Jack isn’t worried. The Detective seems like he’s up for the challenge.

  

          

After nearly a week of gruelling debriefs where Jack suspects both Oversight and Matty take great pleasure in making him retell the entire mess from his perspective as often as possible, they’re finally ready to go home in the morning.

Jack still isn’t sure where he stands with James MacGyver. The man seemingly can’t stand him but still trusts Jack with Mac’s life on a daily basis, and after the last week James looks at him with a grudging respect that Jack isn’t sure what to do with yet.

Matty outright glared at him through the entire process and Jack knows very well it’s her way of getting revenge for making her worry.

She loves him, really.

Mac, the bastard, is finished with telling his side of the story after the first day, Jack doesn’t ask how Matty and James explained his involvement in the end, and he spends the rest of the week having an actual vacation in Paris, returning to their hotel each night visibly relaxed and looking a lot healthier than the day Jack met him next to the Canal Saint-Martin.

Jack returns to his hotel room on his last evening in Paris, tired and ready to sleep for a week, only to find Mac sitting on his bed, making his way through some expensive French dish that Jack could probably recognize if he bothered but he just doesn’t have the energy.

“You know, I think I probably owe you an apology,” Mac says while Jack is still staring dumbfounded at his partner.

“Excuse me?” That’s not what Jack was expecting to hear today.

“I realised over the last weeks how absolutely frustrating having to follow your partner halfway around the world because he’s trying to do dumb shit on his own really is. Given that that’s usually my shtick, I see where you’re coming from now.” Mac looks at him expectantly and that’s…

“Okay? I mean…apology accepted.” But Mac isn’t finished.

“Of course, then there’s the sheer hypocrisy of you doing this after all the times you’ve berated me for doing exactly the same, so I really don’t feel like apologizing anymore because… _what the hell_ , _Jack?_ ” Mac gets up and steps closer and Jack can see the hurt in those beautiful blue eyes.

Hurt that Jack inflicted by being his dumbass self.

“I’m sorry, Mac. I really don’t know what else to say except promise I won’t do it again.” Jack swallows heavily, voice hoarse with regret. Mac pushes a hand through his hair and Jack resists the urge to follow up with his own. He’s barely holding on as it is and if he slips up now, Mac is likely to never talk to him again.

“That’s a start, I guess…you know I really thought we were getting better after the last few months but then you go and pull something like this.”

“Mac…”

“Did I fuck up that badly? I never really told you I was sorry for Nigeria, didn’t I? I just thought…I thought you still _trusted_ me.” Mac’s eyes are mesmerizing and Jack thinks he’s actually holding back tears.

That’s just…no.

“No, no, no, sweetheart,” Jack frames Mac’s face with his hands, making sure the kid is looking at him and ignoring how Mac’s eyes widen at the endearment.

“I trust you, Mac. I _do,_ but there are so many things I’ve done, people I’ve hunted that you have no idea about and of all of them, Kovacs was one of the most vicious and deadly. Hunting him the last time nearly destroyed the man I am today and I just couldn’t take the thought that you would be caught in the crossfire once that ugly part of my past reared its head.”

“You…you are so goddamn _frustrating_ sometimes, Jack.” Mac steps away from him and throws up his hands in frustration.

“When are you going to get it into your thick, Texan skull that your past is not a threat, it’s what brought you to _me_ …the thought that you were out there, alone, without me to back you up…do you have any idea what that did to me, Jack?” Mac’s voice is caught somewhere between pleading and angry and Jack is beginning to understand that maybe he isn’t as alone with his feelings as he’d always thought.

“What are you saying, Mac?” He steps closer and there’s still anger in his partner’s eyes but something else, too.

Something Jack’s been refusing to see, it seems.

“I think you know what I’m talking about, Jack.”  

Jack pushes Mac against the wall, intending to kiss him but if he thought that his partner would get over his anger that easily he thought wrong.

Mac brings his elbow up, blocking Jack’s arm and lets himself drop to the floor, a move Jack wasn’t expecting, so they end up tangled together with Mac on top. The kid is grinning at him, adrenaline making him cocky because Jack is quick catching on and turns them around grabbing both of Mac’s wrist and pressing them into the floor above Mac’s head.

Mac tries to kick out his legs but Jack straddles him and effectively pins his partner to the floor without any room to move. They’re both breathing hard and if Jack isn’t entirely mistaken something else is hard, too.

“That all you can do, old man?” Mac baits while glaring at him and oh yeah, Mac’s still angry all right. Jack almost lets go of him but there’s something in Mac’s eyes that dares him to continue this and Jack is nothing if not up for a challenge.

He curses when Mac presses up against him, a wicked glint in his eyes.

“You little shit,” Jack tells him and Mac’s laugh is breathless. Jack can’t help himself, he needs to kiss Mac and catch that laugh with his lips, turning it into a moan as Mac opens his mouth in surrender.

Jack falls into the kiss with the hunger of a starving man. He releases Mac’s hands and Mac wraps his arms around him, holding on to Jack as if he’s worried that Jack might vanish if he lets go.

For all that Jack knows, that’s exactly what Mac is worried about and he promises himself that he’s going to fix that as soon as possible. Mac is never going to have to doubt that he’s Jack’s top priority ever again.

First things first, though. He draws back enough to be able to look at Mac properly.

“Before we take this any further…I should have said this a long time ago, sweetheart. I’m in love with you. Have been for a while now and if you’re up for it, I’d like to do this right when we’re back in LA.”

Mac smiles at him and his eyes soften.

“Yeah, Jack. I’d like that and for the record? I’m in love with you too.”

“How ‘bout that.” Jack grins soppily until Mac bucks up to remind him that they were doing something else that they haven’t finished yet.

“You know, darlin’. I wasn’t really expecting this tonight, so I don’t know about you but I’m not really swimming in supplies here,” Jack says absently while sucking a hickey into the skin just under Mac’s ear.

“If…if you’re not up to working around that, you’re not the Jack Dalton I know… _fuck_ , Jack.” Mac gets his hands between Jack’s shirt and his skin and Jack raises his arms to help him get rid of the barrier between them. Mac’s own shirt falls victim to Jack’s enthusiasm, buttons flying, while his fingers explore every inch of Mac’s skin that he can get his hands on.

Mac glares at him for the shirt but Jack just shrugs, he’ll buy him a new one, and follows the trail of his fingers with his tongue, Mac arching up beneath him.

He mouths at the bulge in the front of Mac’s jeans for a bit until his partner is nothing more than a shivering mess and finally takes mercy, shaking hands popping the button on Mac’s jeans, he draws out his erection and wraps his fingers around the flesh.

“Jack, _please_ …”

Jack pushes his other hand through the kid’s hair, gently, trying to erase the touch of the bastard Kovacs. Mac turns his head into Jack’s hand and presses a kiss to the palm.

“God, Mac. Do you have any idea what you do to me?” Jack asks breathlessly while staring at him in awe. He strokes Mac’s cock slowly, each movement ending with a twist that make his partner’s eyes roll back in his head.

“Got…got some, yeah,” Mac grinds out and he’s glaring at Jack again, “Could you _please_ stop teasing.”

Jack grins roguishly and increases his pace, eyes never leaving Mac’s. It doesn’t take long – years of pent up tension and the lingering adrenaline from their earlier tumble demanding their due and Mac comes almost silently, spilling himself over Jack’s hand and the skin of his belly.

Jack buries his head in the crook of Mac’s neck, desperate for his own release now that he’s no longer focused on Mac.

“Mac, I…please, I need…,” He pleads and his partner helps him, pushing Jack’s pants down until he has enough friction to rub himself against.

“Whatever you need, Jack.” Mac’s voice is hoarse in Jack’s ear and he wraps his arms around Mac, tightly, trying to get as much skin contact as he can.

Mac presses their foreheads together, one hand wandering down Jack’s back, grabbing a handful of Jack’s ass and squeezing. “Let go, Jack. I’ve got you,” Mac whispers and Jack is lost, spilling his release between their bodies.

Jack barely catches himself before dropping his weight on Mac and manages to turn them to their sides, still clinging to Mac, unwilling to let go. Mac chuckles but he holds on to Jack as tightly as possible.

“What’s so funny?” Jack asks, trying to find the energy to get up from the floor. He’d really rather not fall asleep and find his ass glued to the carpet when he wakes up because he and Mac didn’t bother to clean up.

“You know this hotel doesn’t exactly have sound proof walls, right?” Mac asks breathlessly.

“So what?”

“And do you remember what rooms Matty and my Dad have?” Mac adds and yeah, suddenly Jack does.

“Well, shit,” He states helpfully setting Mac off again and Jack begins to see the humour in the situation. It’s not like Oversight is going to fire him for defiling his son after he already hasn’t fired Jack for kind of but not really betraying his country, Jack thinks and pushes the thought back to deal with later. Right now, he’s tired.

“Come on, hoss. Let’s take a shower and get some shuteye.”

Jack is looking forward to going home.

He doesn’t know what the future might bring, but for now they have all the time in the world.

  _..._

_When they arrive at breakfast the next morning, James MacGyver looks like he wants to drown himself in his coffee. Mac starts chuckling again and Matty rolls her eyes._

_“Glad to see you two finally got over yourselves. Now stop behaving like children, we’re on a tight schedule today, people.”_

_Mac’s dad looks like he wants to protest for a moment but it seems a glare from Matilda Webber is enough to shut even him up._

_Of all the phone calls, this is the one Jack is looking forward to the least, because well…she’s really not going to like it._

_“What do you mean, I don’t need to come to LA after all?” Jack winces even though she can’t see him._

_“Everything’s fine now. All cleared up, no problem anymore.”_

_"Too late, Jack. Director Webber offered me a job, something about reducing your workload and making sure you and your partner can enjoy your honeymoon period. I’m thinking about taking it.”_

_“What are you talking about, what job? Dez?” It’s too late, she already hung up and Jack has the certain feeling that his life has just gotten a lot more complicated._

                                                                      

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, I brought in Desi anyway because frankly, the episodes where it's the whole team in the field and only one person with a gun are getting ridiculous. It was a problem when Jack was still there and it's still going to be a problem with Desi and I felt that the narrative was always a lot smoother when Jack had some backup like in 2x07 and 2x08.


End file.
